Christmas Pudding Trifle

Turn your uneaten pudding into a delicious trifle with spiked whipped cream!

Ingredients

For the custard:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the trifle:

• 8 clementines or 5 blood oranges, peeled and cut into ½-inch-thick slices
• 1/4 cup whiskey or orange liqueur
• 1 cup mascarpone
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
• 1 pound Christmas pudding, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• Candied orange slices, for garnish
• Dark chocolate shavings, for garnish

Directions

1. Make custard: Bring milk and cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in vanilla.
2. Use an electric mixer to beat yolks and sugar until pale. Beat in cornstarch. With motor running, pour in milk-cream mixture and process until incorporated.
3. Transfer mixture to a larger saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking, until custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil. Set custard aside to cool to room temperature.
4. Macerate clementines: In a bowl, pour 2 tablespoons whiskey over clementines. Let sit 10-20 minutes.
5. Make custard-mascarpone mixture: Whisk cooled custard with mascarpone until smooth. Set aside.
6. Make whipped cream: In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioners' sugar and beat a few moments more. Add remaining whiskey and continue beating until cream is billowy. 7. Assemble trifle: Lay a layer of clementines on bottom of a trifle dish or bowl. Add a single layer of Christmas pudding, taking care not to overlap slices. Add a layer of mascarpone-custard, then a layer of whipped cream. Repeat until you’ve used up the components. Cover trifle with a generous coat of whipped cream and top with candied orange slices and chocolate shavings, if using.

Serve immediately.

Note - If you prefer to omit the alcohol from your recipe, I would substitute non-alcohol vanilla extract for the whiskey or unsweetened orange juice concentrate or orange juice for the orange liqueur.